Shippensburg First Church Of God Blog Site: SFCOG Council Highlights and Updates for 1/14/24

The First Sunday of 2024 is Coming! (let’s try this again!)

The snow and ice this past weekend may have prevented us from gathering together, but hopefully you all had the chance to pray and worship and rest in your own ways at home. I pray that you felt God’s presence and had unique opportunities to connect with your families, friends, and neighbors!

This Sunday, we will hope to have the opportunity to begin our year together as a church family with Communion at the Lord’s Table, and reflect once gain on the wisdom of Solomon found in Ecclesiastes. It may be a week delayed, but I will trust that like all things, God will make this first corporate worship opportunity of 2024 “beautiful in it’s time.”

Here (again) is a reflection to prepare your thoughts and hearts for the message on Sunday, followed by some highlights from our January Council meeting and a few updated announcements.

Over Christmas break, my family went hiking on a foggy day. As we ascended up a hill into the mist, we felt like we would eventually catch up to the cloud, but it was always just a little farther away. It gave me a good visual representation of something we will consider in our scripture for Sunday--

In Ecclesiastes 1:14 Wise King Solomon says,

“I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.”

Sometimes in life, it feels like we are chasing after the wind, lost in a fog, or wandering through the mist, grasping at things we can’t quite hold on to, like fleeting happiness or contentment. Especially after the Holidays, it may feel like we go into a long dark, ‘foggy’ season with less to celebrate… joy may feel just out of reach at times.

I recognize these are not exactly the uplifting and encouraging words you may be looking for from Scripture if you are finding yourself battling the post-holiday blues…

…and yet, there are many times where I find something very comforting about the fact that these words of Solomon are including in our Bible.

It’s incredibly relatable!

But what do we do when we feel this way?

The short answer is we hold onto hope, and TRUST that “God has made everything beautiful in its time.” (Ecclesiastes 3:11).

We can keep “eternity in our hearts” as we Follow God in the seemingly ‘meaningless’ routines of our day to day lives, remembering that through Jesus, God himself joins us in our daily lives “under the sun” and HE brings meaning to the mundane.

Consider this: while were chasing after the wind, the very person of God Himself chased after us, entering into our ordinary world as Immanuel—God With US—stepping down from heaven and joining us ‘under the sun,’ making the ordinary extra-ordinary!

One of the most beautiful demonstrations of this can be found in the symbolism of the Lord’s Table, which we will observe together this weekend.

The Passover was already a very special and sacred observance, but at the Last Supper, Jesus revealed a deeper significance to this ancient practice. God in the flesh took common, ordinary, routine, mundane items—Bread and Wine—and gave them New Meaning.

Jesus can do that in all areas of our life, if we open our eyes to His Spirit within us and around us, and as we look forward to the days foretold in Revelation 21:5—

‘He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!”’

Council Highlights

The Shippensburg First Church of God Council met this week for our first Council Meeting of 2024. Here are some highlights to share with you:

Election of 2024 officers was conducted, with the following results:

President – Troy Shively
Vice President – Phil Myers
Secretary – Phil Ritchie
Treasurer – Phil Ritchie
Head Usher (1st service) – Glenn Lytle
Head Usher (2nd service) – Jacques Shaul

The Cross Roads Station renovation project is essentially complete, but a few final details need to be finished. It can begin being used for some of our current ministries, but some finishing touches and usage logistics are still being confirmed. A Dedication Ceremony will be planned to formally commission it with prayer and open it for use with future ministries and community outreach opportunities.
Treasurer Phil Ritchie gave a brief update on the CRS financial position. The final billing from Lehman’s Construction Services, Inc. has been received. After many generous donations and your ongoing financial support, we will only need to borrow $213,605. This should result in monthly mortgage payments of approximately $1,600. Further giving is greatly encouraged to reduce the life of the loan. We praise God for His provision thus far, and trust He will continue to provide!

Our 2024 Church Council will be commissioned with prayer during our morning worship on January 21^st. Please continually hold our leaders in your prayer as we seek to Glorify our God and serve Him with all of the talents and resources that he has entrusted to our congregation, for the furthering of the Gospel and the betterment of our church family and our community.

Upcoming Events

This Sunday (January 14), we will observe Communion as a part of both worship services. Join us as we begin the year at the Lord’s Table. We will also collect a special offering for our Beneficent Fund at the end of our Worship Services.

Beginning on January 19th, we will be offering a Financial Peace University class. This could be a great way to work towards your financial goals in 2024. The class will meet on Friday evenings at 6:30 in the Cross Roads Station Fellowship Hall until the end of March. It is a video-based curriculum with time for fellowship and discussion. There is a fee associated with registration. You can learn more and register online at this link: https://www.fpu.com/3442B7
On January 21, at 9:45, we will be offering our New Member’s Class. This is a chance to learn more about Shippensburg First Church of God and our CGGC denomination, and consider if God may be calling you to make a greater commitment to our church by becoming a Member. You can sign up in the Gathering Place or reply to this email to be sure to receive future communications about the class.

“A Weekend to Remember” is coming to Hershey on February 9-11. This is a wonderful time to strengthen your marriage and experience a weekend away. Now through January 22, Family Life Today is offering a 50% discount. That is the best price they offer, but after the 22, you can still save $100 if you register as part of our Church. You can register at this link: Weekend To Remember Marriage Retreat - FamilyLife® --When registering, we ask that you use the following code: ShippensburgFirstChurchofGod (no spaces). By using this code, the church receives a free couple registration for every five couples registered, and you receive the $100 discount (if registering after the 50%off promotion ends).

I am looking forward to the opportunity to worship together again soon!

Pastor Rodney Bistline

Shippensburg First Church of God

seniorpastorbistline@shipfcog.org